The prosecution team in the Roger Stone case who quit after the Department of Justice intervened to reduce their recommended sentence were hailed as heroes by former Attorney General Eric Holder.
"Jonathan Kravis, Aaron Zelinsky, Adam Jed and Michael Marando—Department of Justice heroes," tweeted Holder, who served in the Obama Administration.
"I support them and all of the men and women of goodwill at DOJ. Be tough. Do not compromise your values; there can be no compromise with those who act corruptly."
Holder also tweeted: "Do not underestimate the danger of this situation: the political appointees in the DOJ are involving themselves in an inappropriate way in cases involving political allies of the President. This affects the rule of law and respect for it. Unprecedented."
President Donald Trump has also made several critical comments about campaign adviser Stone's case and the original sentencing guideline of seven to nine years, calling it "ridiculous" and a "miscarriage of justice."
On Tuesday evening, in response to a tweet calling for Stone to be pardoned, Trump tweeted: "Prosecutorial misconduct?" The president's critics accuse him and Attorney General Bill Barr of political interference in the Stone case. Both deny any improper conduct.
In a court filing on Tuesday, the Department of Justice said the previous sentencing memo "does not accurately reflect" its position on "a reasonable sentence in this matter," and that the court should decide. The new filing admitted Stone committed "serious offenses."
Stone, 67, a longtime friend of Trump and a Republican political strategist who plays on his reputation for dirty tricks, was convicted in November on seven federal counts, including lying to and obstructing Congress, and witness tampering.
The charges related to the House inquiry into links between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russia and Stone's connection to WikiLeaks, which disseminated DNC emails stolen by Russian hackers and intended to damage the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
"This conduct was part of an effort to hide from Congress and to craft a false narrative about Stone's conduct in 2016," said the original sentencing memo by the prosecutors who subsequently quit after the DOJ's intervention.
The memo noted the fact Stone threatened to physically injure a witness, which enhanced the proposed sentence, as did the convict displaying "contempt for this court and the rule of law," including his posting on social media a picture of the presiding judge "with a crosshair next to her head."
Speaking to reporters in the White House on Tuesday, Trump denied intervening directly with the justice department over Stone's case, but repeated his criticisms of the original sentencing memo.
"I didn't speak to the [justice department]. I'd be able to do it if I wanted, I have the absolute right to do it," Trump said. "I stay out of things to a degree that people wouldn't believe. But I didn't speak to them. I thought the recommendation was ridiculous. I thought the whole prosecution was ridiculous.
"And I look at others that haven't been prosecuted, or I don't know where it is now, but when you see that I thought it was an insult to our country and it shouldn't happen.
"We'll see what goes on there but that was a horrible aberration. These are, I guess, the same Mueller people that put everybody through hell and I think it's a disgrace. No I have not been involved with it at all."
The justice department has been asked for comment.
